6 hours. Then it you have time, but not that much! I suppose that it depeds on the time of the day.
The typical touristy thing to do is to go to Raffles Hotel and have a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar.
For us it would be enough time to go to East Coast Seafood Center and get some Chilli Crab.
East Coast Seafood Center is close to the Airport and very easy with Taxis.
I am not sure if that Pool & Poolbar on the roof of one of the Terminal ( inside the Airport) is still there!

6 hrs? I thought the MI flight was @ 0930? Is there a flight on CX that arrives at 3ish am? I thought the latest (or earliest) was CX659 and that lands @ 0530?

Anyways, with 6 hrs, I'd just crash @ the hotel and get ready for Lembeh. It'd be late night time in SG and the only places open are the local eateries that are open all night. If you can't sleep, I'd head over to get a massage at those spas which open till 3 or 4am. My routine after a long plane ride is a run/exercise, then a massage, then sleep. The SIN-MDC flight is too short to really sleep well, and the car ride to Bitung I just sleep out of self-defense. Grab a coconut drink on the way to Bitung.

Drew
Moderator
"Journalism is what someone else does not want printed, everything else is public relations."

"I was born not knowing, and have only had a little time to change that here and there.

Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 09 November 2012 - 06:19 AM

Hey Drew,
We ended up booking the flights through Singapore Air and Silk. SQ flight 11 through Toyko then on to Manado on Flt 5274. Leaves LAX at 15:45 and gets into SIN at 2:55 then a 6 1/2 hour layover to catch the SIN to Manado flt at 9:25 arriving in Manado at 13:05. 30 hours and 20 minutes door to door, The best option is as you said Flight 37 which is all business class and goes direct LAX to SIN. Too steep for me..

I had trouble figuring out how to book the 3 day layover in Singapore on line so got some huge help from Sarah at Ultimate Dive and Travel. Great operation if anyone needs travel agency support.

Flight tip for the week; When flying coach on the A380 you might want to consider choosing seats on the upper deck where you can have two seats together and avoid the 300 lb Sumo wrestler sitting between you and your wife for the long flight.

OK, four days in SGP. Singapore, SGP, is pretty much about shopping and eating.
The Orchid garden in the Botanical Garden is a nice place if you like really nice Orchids. The Zoo and especially the Night Tour is also a should do.
Well, I assume that you can not really avoid the main singaporean tourist trap: Singapore Sling at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel.
Chijmes, opposite Raffles Hotel, is a nice place for a Dinner in the evening. It is a former Catholic Convent School turned into nice European/Westernstyle Restaurant place.
If you like Satay Skewers then an evening at Lau Pau Sat is not a bad place, cheap and very tasty. In the middle of the business district. There is a roofed Victorian style market place.
They close a road in the evening and pull out loads of Satay stands and plastic chairs and tables. That is the best Satay Skewers that I know.

The SQ website has been a big problem for them for over 1.5 years now, since they changed it. However, at least the multi-city itinerary works well. I only call on the travel agent for funky multi-airline travel nowadays.

As for the Raffles' Long Bar, I think it's an overpriced tourist trap with a loud crappy band. Lots of better bars with great views of the city skyline at night like Orgo. I personally dislike Marina Bay Sands for so many reasons but the views are undeniably some of the best. The Garden by the Bay next to MBS is an interesting place to visit. I wouldn't pay to enter any of the domes but the architecture is beautiful and the gardens, though devoid of insects due to the overuse of permethrin fogging in SG, is pretty. Don't go to Indochine in the tower, which is another overpriced crappy resto bar. If you miss good ol' pizza, there's a local franchise of Pizzeria Mozza from LA in MBS. It's more expensive than the LA one (MBS has high rent!) but gourmet pizza in SG isn't cheap. Forget the Osteria, not as good as the one in Melrose. If you are dying for a burger, go to DB Bistro a few doors down from Mozza. But skip everything else cos it's nothing like DBGB in NYC and a lot more expensive too!

If it's raining, the ION Orchard food court has a nice variety of local food, including my fave beef noodles, all in the comforts of a shopping mall with direct subway access. I'd recommend you search the net for local food stalls to try but it takes time and travel as they are all over the island. Going to the housing estates like Queenstown and Toa Payoh to try local food is a great way to see "real" Singapore, vs the tourist traps of the city. One of my favorite places is Lavender Food Square for the Kok Kee Wanton Noodles and fried carrot cake. Even Shawn liked it there. But it's a hot muggy place with no ac. Have fun.

Drew
Moderator
"Journalism is what someone else does not want printed, everything else is public relations."

"I was born not knowing, and have only had a little time to change that here and there.

Flight tip for the week; When flying coach on the A380 you might want to consider choosing seats on the upper deck where you can have two seats together and avoid the 300 lb Sumo wrestler sitting between you and your wife for the long flight.

But there is much less storage for cabin bags upstairs in Sin A380s. Although I agree upstairs makes sense for couples. But as a usually single traveller I tend to sit downstairs. Upstairs is always more popular, so if the flight isn't full you'll have much more chance of an empty seat downstairs.

Steve, when are you going. Having had a break from SE Asia, well rationed myself, I am diving there a lot in the next couple of years. Maybe we'll cross paths.

Besides the zoo and gardens by the bay, the bird park may well be worth a visit. The marine life park at Resorts World Sentosa is supposed to open by year end. If nature is your thing then Sungei Buloh has a number of nature trails with boardwalks along the mangrove swamps in that area. Pulau Ubin is a nice back to nature place as well to spend a day wandering around.

Hi Steve If you like Peranakan food ( Its a South Malaysia/Singapore fusion cuisine AKA Baba-Nonya Cuisine ) then I highly recommend Chilly Padi Restaurant at Joo Chiat Rd (http://www.chillipadi.com.sg/). Its the authentic "local food"!If you visit Little India or Arab Street then send me an email: info@scubacam.com.sg - my store is close by and I could recommend few places to eat and browse around.

Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 13 November 2012 - 07:27 PM

Steve, when are you going. Having had a break from SE Asia, well rationed myself, I am diving there a lot in the next couple of years. Maybe we'll cross paths.

Alex

Hi Alex,Not until May, going with Andy and Allison Sallmon. I think Phil is heading that way too. I'd love to hook up with you when we get another chance. Every time I hear of a trip you are running it's already booked up. Poor planning on my part. I'll have to do better and see what we can put together.

Thanks for all the help with Singapore folks. We may have to stay a couple of weeks to take advantage of all the great tips.

Cheers,Steve

If you visit Little India or Arab Street then send me an email: info@scubacam.com.sg - my store is close by and I could recommend few places to eat and browse around.